Britain 1066–1500
The Battle of Hastings
Icons key:
For more detailed instructions, see the Getting Started presentation
Flash activity. These activities are not editable.
Web addresses
11 of
of 23
23
Teacher’s notes included in the Notes Page
Accompanying worksheet
Sound
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
Learning objectives
Learning objectives
How did Harold plan to defend England?
Who won the Battle of Stamford Bridge?
How did William invade England?
Who won the Battle of Hastings, and why?
2 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
1066: the story so far…
In 1066, King Edward the Confessor died
without an heir.
Three men emerged as contenders for
the English crown.
Can you remember who they were?
3 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
So who did become king?
In the end the Witenagemot decided that
Harold Godwinson should be the next king.
Harold, son of Earl Godwin,
was chosen king by the chief
noblemen of England…
Florence of Worcester, 1115
Harold was crowned in Westminster Abbey in January
1066. But he had no time to celebrate. William of Normandy
and Harald Hardraada were both determined to take the
crown by force.
4 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
Harold’s dilemma
5 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
What did Harold do?
King Harold knew
that he would have
a lot of difficulty
holding onto
England. He did
not know which of
his enemies would
make the first
move, but he
assumed it would
be William, so he
stationed his
troops on the
south coast.
6 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
Hardraada invades
Unfortunately for Harold, his gamble
did not pay off. The first person to
invade was Harald Hardraada.
William was waiting for the right
wind for his ships.
Hardraada arrived at the mouth of the Tyne with more than
300 ships on 20th September 1066. The earls Edwin and
Morcar fought the Norwegians, but eventually lost.
Harold had to march his army north to meet Hardraada,
and then get back to the south again before the wind
changed and allowed William to invade.
7 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
The Battle of Stamford Bridge
Then came our King Harold on the Norwegians
unawares, and met them beyond York at Stamford …
Harald Hardraada was killed, and Earl Tosti; the
Norwegians that were left were put to flight … Only 24
ships returned to Norway.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
The Battle of Stamford Bridge was a great victory for
Harold, but two days later the wind changed and William’s
invasion fleet set sail. William landed at Pevensey on the
Sussex coast on 28th September.
Why was the change in the wind such bad timing?
Who had the better chance of winning the next
battle? Why?
8 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
The next battle
…although [Harold] knew that
he had lost some of his best
men in the recent battle, and
that half of his troops were not
yet assembled, he did not
hesitate to meet the enemy.
Florence of Worcester, 1115
What does this text tell you about the type of man
Harold was?
What advice would you have given him and why?
9 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
The road to Hastings
10 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
The Norman army
The Norman army was made up of…
Archers (armed with bows and
arrows)
Cavalry (men on horseback, armed
with swords)
Foot soldiers (armed mainly with
spears)
Total strength = approx. 6000 men
All William’s soldiers had training
and experience. Many were
professional mercenaries.
11 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
The Saxon army
The Saxon army was made up of…
Housecarls – professional soldiers
armed with battleaxes
Fyrd – armed with spears and
sometimes swords
Total strength = approx. 6000 men
The housecarls were highly trained and
formed the core of the army. The fyrd were
ordinary men called up to serve in times of
emergency. They were unpaid and had little
or no training.
12 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
The Battle of Hastings
13 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
How much do you remember?
14 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
The Bayeux Tapestry
Much of our information about the
Battle of Hastings comes from the
Bayeux Tapestry. This is a large
embroidery commemorating the
Norman conquest of England. It is
believed to have been
commissioned by William’s halfbrother, Bishop Odo, who fought
alongside him at Hastings.
Unfortunately, there are two problems with the Bayeux
Tapestry as a source. One is that it can be difficult to work out
what’s happening at certain points. Can you guess what the
other problem might be?
15 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
The Bayeux Tapestry
16 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
The Bayeux Tapestry
17 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
The Bayeux Tapestry
18 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
The death of Harold
Everybody knows that William won the Battle of Hastings
and Harold lost. But how exactly did Harold die?
Imagine you are a detective
investigating a murder. You interview
the witnesses, but they disagree with
each other. Some may be mistaken.
Some may be lying. So you examine
the other evidence, but it isn’t very
clear. In fact, it may even have been
tampered with.
This is the situation historians face in
investigating the death of Harold.
19 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
Pictorial evidence – the Bayeux Tapestry
20 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
Written evidence
Now we’ve looked at the pictorial evidence for the battle, let’s
see whether the written evidence backs it up.
…Harold fell, his brain
pierced by an arrow. One
of the soldiers with a
sword gashed his thigh as
he lay on the ground.
William of Malmesbury,
1140
Harold and his two brothers
had fallen close together. The
King could not be recognized
by his face which had been cut
by a sword – only by certain
marks on his body.
William of Poitiers, 1071
Do these sources agree with each other?
How do they help to explain the scene on the
Bayeux Tapestry showing Harold’s death?
21 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
Comparing sources
22 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007
So how did Harold die?
23 of 23
© Boardworks Ltd 2007